May the Gods be with you
by honeyredtea
Summary: Reincarnated souls X nearly all the characters X second chance at life X a GOD following everyone around X friendship bonds X budding romance X random fun. Chapter 4 out! Please read and review :D
1. Bystander: Kami

**PROLOGUE**

**B****ystander: Kami**

Kami watched the last human soul depart from the Afterlife school as dawn broke. Following the departure of his first and only love, the person once known as Otonashi Yuzuru had cried deep into the night till his tears were dry. It was the grand finale, the end to his life, death and afterlife. Otonashi was well aware of this himself – thus, as first light glazed across the sky, he looked upwards with a bittersweet smile and disappeared.

It was quiet. Almost too quiet.

Kami breathed a sigh of... was it relief? A sense of accomplishment after having guided another group of lost souls to rest? Or was she too, sad to see good times coming to an end?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a flying ball of white fluff which hurtled against her head.

"PETT! What was that for? I'm being melancholic here OI!" Kami yelled, half annoyed, while rubbing the sore spot against the backside of her skull. If she had been human, she would also have fell from the rooftop fence she had been perching on. Luckily being a god means you can fly (along with everything else you can also do).

Pett was ecstatic. "Time to play! Kamiiii!" He bounced up down left right against thin air, all the time trying to headbutt the young girl with great enthusiasm.

"The group of souls this time had all graduated right? Right? Riiight? So let's play~~~"

A sparkle glanced through Kami's dark red eyes and she smiled. True that, she should take some time off before the Boatsman brings more lost souls to her world. The most recent bunch, particularly Nakamura Yuri's 'Afterlife Battlefront' group and 'Angel' Tachibana Kanade had been quite a handful to work with – not only did their backgrounds make catering peace harder, the battlefront had also somehow managed to tap into the lifestream by sheer will and made a whole arsenal of guns, explosives and goodness knows what else. All that to 'fight' against a single little girl (while wrecking chaos through half the school in the process). Kami had to admit, however, she might have catalysed this by giving Kanade a modified version of the 'Angel Player' software. Her intentions were really only to level the playing field…

"Kami?" Pett stared at Kami with big round eyes. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, of course," replied Kami, "I was just thinking about what an interesting group we had this time…funny how they were trying to lure me out…what did you think of them?"

Pett made an attempt at pouting (it looked more like he ate something super sour). "Pett doesn't like the big bang bang kabooming they were making! And those big shadowy shadows you released at the end were scary!"

Kami laughed. "I had to do SOMETHING to move things along, you know? That kid Otonashi had the right idea, but going through all those people would have taken too long unless there was an incentive – so I had to give them a nudge somehow…" _Although_, she thought to herself, _maybe I could have let them play on a bit longer…the 'Angel Player' event could have waited…_

"Is Otonashi is the soul you asked the Boatsman to find from Heaven? So the little girl with white hair can find peace?"

"Yup. Tachibana Kanade, receiver of Otonashi Yuzuru's heart…" Kami gazed over the school as the artificial souls (referred to as 'NPCs' by the Battlefront group) started going about their usual business following their predetermined settings. It won't be long before more lost souls will come in order to find peace.

Kami thought about how cruel the Elder Gods have set the 'living' world. Some souls live easy lives while others are tortured by circumstances beyond their control. Others have a blind pulled across their eyes such that they cannot see their own happiness until it is gone. What were they thinking? What is the meaning of creating such a world? Is there a purpose in creating and destroying life? If there is, then what does that make this afterlife world? Some kind of compensation to the souls tormented by the Elder Gods?

She shook her head, an attempt to make these riddle-like thoughts disappear and stop bothering her.

But still they persisted.

_Why?_

_Why? Why? Why?_

_..._

_Who am I?_

In a world between the living and dead, a young girl with silky black hair and dark red eyes drifted aimlessly in the air. The gentle wind brushed against her soft white wings and played with her long white dress. She closed her eyes. If anyone or anything had seen her, they would say she looked almost…angelic.

Pett's ears suddenly perked up. "Kami! You have a new assignment!"

A letter sealed in wax dropped from the sky. Kami swiftly caught and opened it with practiced ease. As she read the rune-like squiggles, excitement diffused across her face and her eyes sparked with renewed enthusiasm.

"Pett!" she exclaimed, "We have a new job! Time to go to the living world!"

With that, an angel named Kami and her baby dragon familiar opened a gate in the sky and disappeared.

In an alternate dimension far far away, a boy named Otonashi Yuzuru opened his eyes.

...

_A/N: HI! This is my first fanfic *excite!* I've just finished watching Angel Beats and it's left me thinking...THERE MUST BE MORE! So heres my version of what shall happen after the end of Angel Beats! Season 1 XD Please read and review! Thankyou~~_


	2. Rebirth: When Cherry Blossoms fall I

**Chapter 01**

**Rebirth: When the**** Cherry Blossoms fall ( I )**

Otonashi Yuzuru opened his window to welcome the morning breeze. He breathed deeply, enjoying the fresh spring air which carried a slight scent of morning dew, honey and toast from downstairs. Checking his navy blue tie once more in the mirror, Otonashi made his way to the lounge.

"Morning, Hatsune." he greeted his younger sister who was halfway through breakfast.

"Ah! Yuzuru-niichan! Morning~" she returned his greeting happily and resumed delicately munching away at a thick slice of toast spread with golden honey. Otonashi made himself the same breakfast and sat opposite her at the table. It was a peaceful start to a new school year, and to Otonashi, this will also be his last year of high school. _This time next year_, he thought, _I will be on the road to becoming a doctor!_ Motivated by this thought, Otonashi finished off his toast, grabbed his bag and set off down the road with Hatsune.

As cherry blossoms drifted down around the brother and sister at five centimetres per second, Otonashi felt a strange sensation. An image of him carrying a younger Hatsune between rows of winter bare trees flashed across his mind. _What was that?_ he thought, _was it… a dream?_ The image had made his heart drop and a deep feeling of sadness mixed with regret had stirred in his stomach.

"…niichan? Yuzuru-niichan?" Hastune, having seen the blanked out look on her brothers face, waved a hand across in front of his face.

"Huh? Ah sorry…I must've space out. What were you saying?" Otonashi snapped back to reality.

"Umm…never mind, Yusa's waiting for me over there so I'll go that way now? Have fun at school!"

"Right! Ok I'll see you at home. You too!" Otonashi waved his sister goodbye as she went down the road towards her blonde-haired friend and they set off in the direction towards Minami middle school. He looked up towards the sky to see a grey cloud looming in the distance. Mentally hoping it wouldn't rain on the first day, Otonashi started up the hill amongst the sea of beige-coloured blazers and purple-white sailor uniforms towards his school, Sakurano high.

It wasn't long before he was tackled from behind by a blue haired boy.

"HEYYY! Otonashi! How was your holidays? Maaan you should've come watch our baseball games! I caught the final ball and we won – " His words were cut off by a pink haired girl who had tackled him from behind.

"Hinata! I was halfway through a story and you ran away? Why you….!" she began executing what looked like some pro-wrestling moves on the boy, while the boy being choked appeared to be halfway down the tunnel with light at the other end. Otonashi watched them, an amused look across his face. He and Hinata had met this girl, Yui, just over a year ago when Hinata hit a home run into an actual home – Yui's home. Although Hinata and Yui both deny harbouring any special feelings for the other, the happy aura around them (although it may look murderous) spoke otherwise.

Then it hit again – that strange sensation. An image of Hinata proposing marriage to a teary eyed Yui on a baseball field at sunset. Otonashi blinked. The image disappeared. _Again? _Otonashi looked up at the sky. He was surprised that the grey clouds which were looming ahead just minutes ago had completely disappeared. Maybe the teru-teru-boozu he made last night took effect?

Suddenly, for a brief instant he saw a winged girl in the sky. Then she also disappeared. _Huh? Was that…an angel?_ Otonashi rubbed his eyes.

"Yo! Mr. Student council president Otonashi! Watcha spacing out for?" Hinata and Yui were already by the gates of Sakurano high.

"Ah…coming!" Otonashi looked up at the clear sky once more before running to catch up with the couple. _Probably just my imagination…_

_..._

Up in the sky, Kami welcomed back Pett who had been out chasing rainclouds away.

"Good job, Pett." Kami smiled and scratched the little dragons belly.

"Hey, Kamikami, what are we doing here?" Pett looked up at Kami with catlike eyes full of curiosity.

"Hmm….you'll see." replied Kami, "things will get more interesting from now on."

Kami looked down at Otonashi Yuzuru and for an instant their eyes met. Despite being so far away, Kami suddenly felt as if the boy had actually seen her. She quickly discarded the thought from her head. A mere human, reincarnation or not, would not possibly be able to see her.

_However…it is…__**strange**__…that all those kids were reincarnated like this…_

_..._

_A/N: YAY second part! XD Thanks for reading and if it's not too much trouble, please review! *happy dance*_


	3. Rebirth: When Cherry Blossoms fall II

**Chapter 02**

**Rebirth: When the Cherry Blossoms fall ( II )**

Second year of high school is a golden year. The time when you are no longer the little juniors who know nothing of the high school life, yet you are still free from the burdens of being the eldest, the seniors who must be responsible and prepare for university. Second year is the year of freedom.

To Noda, none of this really mattered. He was heading to Sakurano high for one reason only – Nakamura Yuri.

"You know, some people might refer to that as stalking, Noda-nii." Yui interrupted his thoughts over breakfast.

"Huh? Wha..what are you talking about?" Noda quickly stuffed the picture of his crush into his blazer pocket. His efforts were in vain though, since Yui had already been entertaining herself by watching him gaze at that photo for some time now.

"How shallow minded…" a soft voice spoke from the shadows in the corner, where a little girl ate congee while balancing on a gym ball.

"Shiina!" Noda shot a vicious glare towards his youngest sister while attempting to retain composure after her voice caught him off guard.

Yui laughed at her purple haired brother, "Hahahaha! Noda-nii got scared~" and ran out the door before he could make a comeback. Through the window they watched her tackle Hinata Hideki, who had been waiting outside.

After completion of his morning big-brotherly tasks by taking Shiina to her primary school, Noda started up the slopes to Sakurano high, surrounded by falling sakura blossoms falling lazily through the air. Then he saw her. Nakamura Yuri, sharing some funny story with her friends while walking towards school. He had known her since the start of middle school, but had hardly talked to her at all since the timing was never right (from his point of view). As far as Yuri was concerned, he was probably just another face around school. If only he could get to know her more. If only he could do more than watch her sunshine-like aura from behind. If only he was in the same class as her this year. If only…

Noda stared at the class lists. _Huh?_ He read and reread the class lists and kept staring at the names. The names stared back. He was in the same class as Nakamura Yuri!

Unaware that a circle had formed around him from scared people edging away from his 'evil' looking smile, Noda thanked his goddess of good fortune and walked as 'cool and calm' as he could towards class; all the time fighting back an urge to jump with joy down the corridors.

…

If Pett had an emoticon above his head, it would currently be "o_O". He and Kami were currently sitting in a cute French-style café in 'visible' form – Kami with wings hidden and Pett transformed into a white husky.

"Kami?" He looked up to see Kami drop the sixth cube of sugar into her tea.

"Hmm?"

"Pett's confused! What exactly is our mission?"

"Nothing in particular."

"Huh? Then why did we do all those random things? Like chasing rainclouds, growing cherry blossoms, changing class lists…?"

"Oh…that's just extra service. In human terms I think it's 'like icing on a cake'? The Elders didn't mention anything about NOT being allowed to change things anyway."

"But why did we do it? And what's our mission?" Pett had a feeling Kami wasn't going to answer either question. She hadn't told him anything since their arrival in this world two months ago, despite Pett's constant attempts at interrogation. To most, this may seem like an insult. To Pett, this was like a game; After all, if Kami didn't want to tell, she probably has good reason not to - although that won't stop Pett from prying.

However, Pett did find recent events strange. When they first arrived in this realm Kami was so excited she couldve had 100 cubes of sugar in her tea, but after the arrival of a second, third then fourth letter from the Elder Gods, something just wasn't quite right anymore. _Kamikami not like Kamikami..._

"Hmmm…" Kami sipped her tea nonchalantly. "I'm just bored."

"AWWWW!" If Pett _did _have a emoticon above his head, it was now 'XD' in giant letters. "If you're bored~ then let's PLAYYY!"

At a café not too far from Sakurano High school, a white husky bodyslammed his master and a brief scene of chaos and hilarity followed.

...

_A/N: In comes Noda! I havn't decided what pairings may / may not be made (other than Hinata x Yui) so ideas would be greatly appreciated! Next chapter plan: enter GirlDeMo!_


	4. Interlude: Music x Luck

**Chapter 03**

**Interlude: Music x Luck**

_Just as music saved me, I want to save __someone else with music. _As curtains raised and smokescreens cleared, these were the thoughts running though Iwasawa's mind. Soon she and her band members, Hisako, Irie and Sekine were all engrossed in the moment – the beginning of their live concert.

The crowd was ecstatic. Signs featuring 'GIRLDEMO LOVE!' and 'GO IWASAWA!' waved to and fro amongst a constant flashing of cameras. This is the time when the band of 4 girls enter their zone – trancelike, in the atmosphere surrounded by stage lighting and their own music. Nothing on the outside mattered anymore. Iwasawa sang her heart to the world.

This is what she lived for, and this is what she will continue to live on for from now on.

…

"WHAT? You havn't heard of GirlDeMo?" Yui, appalled, made a move to strangle her older brother.

Noda gasped a reply between breaks in Yui's strangle attack. "Arrrgh! Why…should I care…about some random…pop group? …Real power…comes through physical combat!"

"How does that even relate? Girls Dead Monster is amazing! 'GirlDeMo' for short! They perform amazingly for an all-girl band, and above all they have Iwasawa-san on vocals and guitar! She even does the composition and lyrics! My favourite is Crow Song! The climax is absolutely amazing! And you know what's really awesome? Alchemy! You know, Alchemy is…" Suddenly an image flashed through Yui's mind. She was saying these same words to someone…_someone with orange hair…? Is this…Déjà vu?_

"…Yui?" Noda was grateful to be released from near death, but it wasn't like Yui to keep clinging on after she was done.

"Huh? Aah…nothing nothing nothing!" Yui quickly forgot about the strange occurrence and attacked Noda one more time before releasing him. There was more important things at hand. "Anyway! We MUST win those tickets today! I went through the checkout 33 times to get these extra dockets so don't put my efforts to waste! Got it, Noda-nii?"

"Sure…" Noda sighed. This was, apparently, also part of his big-brotherly tasks. The pair was standing in a prize draw line at a supermarket promotion event. Every docket is a chance to pick a draw, and somewhere inside the waiting box was a prize of four VIP tickets to the next GirlDeMo concert. Because of this, both Yui and Noda had gone through the supermarket checkout numerous times (one willingly, one not-so-willingly), buying one item per trip. They now had a total of 66 tickets to draw tickets with – this equals 66 chances to win GirlDeMo tickets – and this equals 66 chances for Noda to avoid a certain fate (involving a near death experience by the hands of his younger sister).

"NEXT!" The sales rep gestured the eager sister and not-so-eager brother to the stand.

"Come on, come on!" Yui spun the draw-box with great enthusiasm. A small ball rolled out.

"White! Participatory prize!" The sales rep handed a pad of tissues to the still eager sister and quite un-eager brother.

"Ok. Still have 65 to go!" Yui spun the draw-box again.

64 spins later, a still eager sister and a brother who looked as if he was dreading something bad stood in front of the draw-box. They had, in a complimentary plastic bag, 45 small pads of tissue, 12 pencils and 3 small writing pads. Noda looked at the bag and wondered how much of the tissues Yui will get through in the next few minutes. _Actually, _he thought, _if we don't get the tickets now, she would just make us do this all over again…_He sighed.

Ignoring her brothers sigh, or rather, having not heard it at all, Yui was revved up and ready to go again. One last time.

"Wait!" a young girl with red eyes and long black hair walked up to the stand, followed by a white husky. "Shift change, buddy." She casually tapped the sales rep on the shoulder. "Come back in 5?"

"Huh? Ah…ok sure." The sales rep walked away obediently. Unbeknownst to everyone, he was actually under hypnosis – _Come back in 5. _A sweet voice repeated this command in his head. _Come back in 5._

"HEERRREEE III GOOOO!" Yui yelled with all her might as she spun the box one last time. "COME ON COME ON COME ON COME ON!"

The box spun around and around then slowly came to a stop. A small ball rolled out. Yui and Noda both stared at the ball. It took a moment to register what they were looking at.

"Gold! First prize!" The mysterious young girl rang the bell – a special service for top prize winners. As realisation dawned upon them, happiness diffused across Yui's face and Noda breathed a sigh of relief while smiling. The ball was gold! The GirlDeMo concert VIP tickets were theirs for real!

Along a road near Sakurano high school, the happy cheers of a young GirlDeMo fan could be heard echoing all the way up to the sky.

…

"Hey! Guess what?"

Iwasawa looked up as Hisako entered the room. "What's up?"

"Someone won the VIP tickets to our next live! A girl called Yui and her brother Noda." Hisako held out her phone featured the text message from their manager.

Iwasawa instantly pictured a short girl with long pink hair and a purple haired boy carrying a halberd. The image disappeared as quickly as it had come.

_Huh? _Iwasawa blinked. _That was weird…_

...

"Ok Noda-nii, heres the plan." Yui looked straight at her brother with eyes full of determination. "I'll get Hinata to get Otonashi-senpai to let you help out in the student council – like being their errand-boy or something. Nakamura-senpais also in the student council right? So that will give you a chance to talk to her somehow. Then you just have to find a chance to ask her out to the GirlDeMo live! Easy right? I call it 'The Great Noda-nii x Nakamura Yuri Plan'!"

Noda only heard half of this – he was concentrating on his 'cool and calm' acting. "Well…ok." he stammered, "Sure. Whatever. I..I wasn't asking you to help me, y..you know?"

"Yup, I know." her cheery reply almost made Noda lose the 'cool and calm'.

Noda took the GirlDeMo tickets. "Th..thanks."

As Noda went into his room, Yui grinned from ear to ear. _What a simple minded brother. _

_..._

_A/N: Thanks for reading! I was originally going to involve more GirlDeMo but a friend pointed out the need to start moving the story onwards (yes..i know it's going quite slow at the moment ."...i'm working on it!). I've also had questions about what Kami is doing...tbh, i have no idea :D! I have some options lined up and still deciding between which plotline i intend to follow..hahahahaha. Anyway, n__ext chapter: Enter Matsushita, TK, Naoi, Shiina, and more! (hopefully)._


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